I never predict victory – ever. But many Penguins fans are nervous after a preseason which saw their team put forth rather anemic efforts and racking up loss after loss. But should Pens fans really worry? Probably not.

The preseason is the preseason and while it would have been nice to see the team post a few more wins remember that much of the ice time was consumed by players that are not with the team and never had a legitimate shot of playing in the NHL this season and the rest was taken by players that know they have the team made. Star players have been given rest while others were given changes to prove themselves. There were not many question marks and that meant not a ton of incentive to do anything more than what the coaches asked to see.

You would think that one of those things would be to win a game here and there. While that would have been nice please think about a couple of things. First, many of these players have had a lot of wear put on their tires as a result of traveling to the Stanley Cup Finals for two straight years. They know how to win and they have proven they can do it when it counts. The preseason really doesn’t count except for those players that had a legitimate shot at what was less than a handful of roster spots. There is no need to knock yourself out in exhibition games when you have a minimum of 82 games that count to play.

There was certainly effort most of the time from most of the players. What there wasn’t, quite obviously, was the tapping of that extra gear to make things happen when making things happen really doesn’t matter. No one remembers a spectacular play from a preseason game when the first game in March starts. No one remembers the perfect pass that set up a goal in September exhibition when the playoffs begin.

Still, more than one win in scrub on scrub action sure would have been nice.

I certainly will not change my nature now and predict a victory Friday night when the Penguins lift their championship banner to the rafters as the Rangers visit town. But I will predict that the Penguins will be ready for the season opener and will play hockey that night like an NHL team should. That doesn’t mean that they will win, just that they are ready to make another run at Lord Stanley’s Cup starting from the drop of the first puck that actually means something.